{"id":2666,"date":"2025-09-25T06:39:36","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T14:39:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.katrinasdream.org\/dreamscape\/?p=2666"},"modified":"2025-09-25T06:39:36","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T14:39:36","slug":"wondering-about-the-sovereign-wealth-fund-from-trumps-tiktok-buyout-tease-to-a-potential-economic-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.katrinasdream.org\/dreamscape\/wondering-about-the-sovereign-wealth-fund-from-trumps-tiktok-buyout-tease-to-a-potential-economic-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"Wondering About the Sovereign Wealth Fund: From Trump’s TikTok Buyout Tease to a Potential Economic Game-Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"

September 24, 2025<\/span><\/p>\n

Sent via email<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Dear Friends and Family,<\/span><\/p>\n

As the leaves turn and the fiscal year winds down, it’s hard not to wonder: Whatever happened to that big idea President Trump floated back in February about creating a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF)? In a move that grabbed headlines worldwide, Trump signed an executive order on February 3, 2025, directing the Treasury and Commerce Departments to draft a blueprint for the nation’s first federal SWF within 90 days. The plan? Harness America’s vast assets to fuel long-term growth, ease tax burdens, and even snag high-profile buys like TikTok. Seven months later, with the deadline long past and whispers of congressional hurdles, the question lingers\u2014will we hear more about this fund, or will it fade into the annals of ambitious policy proposals?<\/span><\/p>\n

Drawing from the original Reuters coverage that broke the story, the full text of the executive order, and deeper analysis from legal firm Holland & Knight, this piece recaps the origins, unpacks what an SWF really is, and dives into U.S. history with these funds\u2014both past flirtations and present-day realities at the state level. Spoiler: While a national SWF remains a tantalizing “what if,” America’s states have been quietly building wealth engines for decades.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Spark: Trump’s Executive Order and the TikTok Twist<\/b><\/p>\n

It all kicked off in Washington on a crisp February morning. As detailed in the Reuters article<\/span> Trump orders creation of US sovereign wealth fund, says it could buy TikTok<\/span><\/a>, President Trump inked the order amid fanfare, positioning the SWF as a tool to “create a lot of wealth for the fund” and join the ranks of global heavyweights like those in the Middle East and Asia. The document itself, available in full at the White House site<\/span> A Plan for Establishing a United States Sovereign Wealth Fund<\/span><\/a>, is concise but visionary. It invokes presidential authority to promote “fiscal sustainability” and “economic security for future generations,” tasking Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce officials with delivering recommendations on funding (think tariffs, per Trump’s past remarks), investments, structure, and governance by early May.<\/span><\/p>\n

The order’s sparse details left room for speculation\u2014and Trump didn’t disappoint. He mused about using the fund to scoop up TikTok, the ByteDance-owned app facing a U.S. ban over national security fears. With 170 million American users in the balance, Trump delayed enforcement by 75 days via another order and hinted at a “right deal” involving the SWF. As Holland & Knight’s alert<\/span> Trump Plans to Create a U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund and Suggests Potential TikTok Acquisition<\/span><\/a> notes, this could sidestep full nationalization while giving Uncle Sam a stake amid U.S.-China trade tensions. But experts like Clemence Landers from the Center for Global Development poured cold water: No surplus means no easy funding, and Congress holds the purse strings. “You can’t fund an institution by executive order,” she quipped.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast-forward to today: The 90-day plan was submitted quietly, but progress has stalled amid budget battles and deficit debates (projected at $1.9 trillion for FY2025). Investors remain skeptical\u2014Robeco’s Colin Graham called it a “confused solution to an undefined problem.” Yet, with global SWFs managing over $8 trillion across 90+ funds (per the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds), the allure persists. Will tariffs from Trump’s trade wars fill the coffers? Could repurposing the U.S. International Development Finance Corp. (DFC) bridge the gap? As we hit September, the silence is deafening\u2014leaving us wondering if this fund will ever see daylight.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Exactly Is a Sovereign Wealth Fund?<\/b><\/p>\n

At its core, a Sovereign Wealth Fund is a state-owned investment vehicle that pools national surplus\u2014often from commodities like oil, trade windfalls, or privatizations\u2014to invest in assets worldwide. These aren’t your grandma’s savings account; they’re powerhouse portfolios in stocks, bonds, real estate, private equity, and more, aimed at stabilizing economies, diversifying revenue, saving for the future, or making strategic plays.<\/span><\/p>\n

As Holland & Knight explains, SWFs pursue four main goals:<\/span><\/p>\n